When Lt. Gov. Mark Schweiker arrived at the Sheraton Jetport on Thursday, he noticed that the spring air was finally heating up like Pennsylvania's economy.

"It's nearly a 70-degree day," he said, having arrived by airplane from State College, Centre County. "And we have the status of being one of the hottest job-creating states in the country right now."

Schweiker was in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, to speak to about 40 members of the Lehigh Valley chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses at a luncheon fund-raiser.

The group, which recently endorsed Gov. Tom Ridge and Schweiker for re-election, represents about 25,000 privately held small businesses in the state and 600,00 nation-wide.

How hot is the Pennsylvania economy?

Well, Schweiker said the state has added 230,000 more jobs since Ridge's Republican administration took over in 1995.

There were 5.5 million jobs in the state in December 1997, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Lehigh Valley's 4.2 percent unemployment rate for January was the lowest since June 1989.

"If I had stood here four years ago, we would have been dead last in new business starts and near dead last in job formation," he said. "In 1994, we were 45th among states in job creation. As I stand here today, we're 17th. We vaulted 28 spots.

"Why? I think teamwork in the legislature and organizations like the NFIB.

"We also have a venturesome governor, who is mindful of the fact that you can't have employees without employers. We had some of the most intimidating tax conditions in the state.

"I come here today again to say we brought the cost of doing business down by $3 billion."

On Tuesday, the House passed Ridge's $17.8 billion budget proposal. After going to the Senate, the General Assembly has until June 30 to pass the final version.

Schweiker said the governor's proposal has parts that will help business and heat up employment even more.

Included are provisions to extend net operating loss carry-forward by seven years to 10 years; to cut the capital stock franchise tax down by a half mill and put in place a job creation tax credit to aid economic development.

"This is a pretty rich history when you look to big steel, big coal, big oil and big railroads," Schweiker said. "I know what was the legacy of steel. It's troubling that Bethlehem Steel is going to soon cease operation here.

"We're on the job to get those folks some needed training and help them land meaningful jobs."